4 Responses

Very often in the past, added capacity has resulted in added traffic, increasing congestion rather than improving it. While estimates about when ‘peak oil’ will come vary greatly, it will come within our children’s lifetimes, if not our own. We should be investing in alternatives to single occupancy motor vehicles, not more of the same. I would rather have seen this money go to transit and light rail, bikeways and sidewalks.

yes, understood on all points. But it is hard to believe that the road between 23 & 24 will take on more traffic because it is widened. It’s massively used already. At the most, if it does take on more traffic, it will still reduce congestion.

I think a third lane should be added each direction all the way down the Thruway to the Harriman toll plaza where it becomes three lanes already(and a fourth lane added from there on to NYC). There is no reason to believe that just because a third lane of pavement is added that miraculously overnight, hundreds of cars will suddenly flock to the highway. Not gonna happen. If anything, this will reduce the congestion so often seen on the Thruway. Try going south on a Sunday night over the summer and you’ll see what I mean. Traffic backups for miles and only two lanes to handle the traffic amounts. A third lane would provide more room for traffic to move and for people to be on their way.

How many people don’t south on Sunday nights because of the traffic? How many of them would if the Thruway had another lane? What would the added traffic do to the roads leading up to the exits where they get on and off?

It’s not magic. Its additional traffic induced by latent demand – trips deferred or not taken due to lack of capacity, and has been documented many times in the path. I don’t have any examples right at hand, but I’ll try to find some.